My Books

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Writing Experiment #13 - Ryann Manuscript Part 10

This is number thirteen in a series of posts where I document the complete process of writing a novella - Day By Day!

INTRODUCTION

I am documenting (via my blog) the complete start to finish experience of writing a novella that I will be releasing for FREE once it is written.

Ryann is the story of a thirteen year-old girl who works as a servant for a tyrant of a master, and longs for the day when she can buy her freedom. The novella will serve as the introduction to a new fantasy series that I will start writing in 2013.

I will be writing approximately 900 words per day and I will post each day's writing the following morning, unedited, on my blog. This means you get to see my draft with all its original spelling mistakes, bad grammar, and clumsy sentences

Today's Date: May 1st
Progress: Day 10 complete. Following is the day's writing (Chapter Five continued)...

It was the first time in a long while that Bramwel had actually studied his books. He had been trying to find out more about the tapestry he had brought to his room the day before. He had thought about asking his father but had decided against it in case there was a bad reason the tapestry had been put in that room, hidden away. More likely than not there was a reason, and Bramwel didn’t want to be on the wrong end of his father’s temper.

He picked up his toy white horse and compared it to the one in the tapestry that was laid out on the floor in front of him. The toy horse looked very similar to the one in the tapestry. Almost identical. Maybe it had been copied from there. Bramwel tried to remember when he had first received the toy horse. It had been a gift from his mother, he remembered that much. Probably about three years ago. After all, his mother had been dead for more than two years now. Yes, probably about three years ago.

Bramwel put the toy horse down, rolled up the tapestry, and pushed it back under his bed. He would take another look at it later in the day. He picked up his white horse again and crossed to the window and stared outside. One day he was going to get a real white horse of his own. One that he could ride. “I will ride it into battle,” he said out loud. “I will ride you to victory, white horse.” He pushed the toy horse up against the window and made a few galloping sounds. “One day, little white horse.”

Hearing a noise, Bramwel turned around. Ryann was tidying his bed and moving a few things. “When did you get here?”

“Just now, master,” Ryann replied, curtsying and carrying on with her chores.

Bramwel hurriedly pulled the white horse close to his chest and walked across the room to put it back into its storage place. “Just make sure you do a proper job today,” he muttered, quickly leaving the room.

As soon as Bramwel had gone, Ryann stopped what she was doing and walked over to where she had seen Bramwel put the horse. She picked it up and smiled. She turned it over in her hands a few times before replacing it under the table. Who’d have thought that Bramwel had a toy horse? Surely he was a little too old to be playing with something like that? She returned to the bed and straightened the pillows. But there was something else. She couldn’t quite work out what it was, but something was tugging at the back of her mind. Oh well, maybe it would come to her later.

Ryann picked up some of Bramwel’s dirty clothes and tucked them under her arm. She took a final look around the room and then she walked back toward the kitchen, stopping at the laundry area to drop off the clothes.

“Hi there, Kieran,” she said, seeing him sitting at a table in the kitchen. “Have you finished all your chores already?”

Kieran looked up from his bowl of soup. “No, I was just having a quick snack. I’m really hungry today and cook has made one of her tasty soups.” He pointed to the stove-top. “Why don’t you get a bowl too?”

Ryann shook her head. “I’m fine.” Ryann crossed over and sat down next to Kieran. “Do you remember that tapestry we saw yesterday?”

“The one I showed you?”

Ryann nodded. “It’s in Bramwel’s bedroom now. He had it laid out on the floor yesterday. He must have taken it from that room you showed me.”

“Yeah, he nearly caught me yesterday. I guess he must have gone through that door and found it. I’ll have to be more careful in future.”

“And he has a toy horse that is just like it,” continued Ryann.

“What?”

“Bramwel. He has a white wooden toy horse that is just like the one from the tapestry. I saw him playing with it today when I went there to do my chores.”

“And what do you think that means?” asked Kieran, finishing off his soup and getting up to take the empty bowl to another table.

“I don’t know. But don’t you think it’s a big coincidence not to mean anything?”

Kieran laughed and cross over toward Ryann. He ruffled her hair as he passed, and continued walking until he was out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you later, Ree. I have some practicing to do.”

Ryann watched Kieran as he disappeared up the corridor. He really was quite handsome. He was a little taller than she was and he had nice short-cropped ginger hair. And he always seemed to almost float as he walked along the corridors. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? Of course she had, it was just that he never used to pay any attention to her. Not until Megan had died. Poor Megan.

Ryann wished she didn’t have to live in the castle. If only she had enough money to buy her freedom, she could leave and marry Kieran. She blushed. What was she thinking? She couldn’t marry. No sclava was ever allowed to marry. She put a hand to her face in the hope that the heat had gone from it and then she got to her feet. “Oh well,” she said. “I guess I had better get back to the master’s room and clean out that chest.” At least that would take her mind away from thinking about Kieran.